Door and threshhold weatherseal system

ABSTRACT

A weatherseal arrangement around a door cooperates with a threshhold under the door to drain away water blown against the door. Weatherseals along vertical edges of the door prevent water from passing inward and also conduct water downward to the threshhold which has an enclosed chamber under the door. The downward draining water is guided into a top opening of the chamber, preferably by pile material over the top opening, and a drain opening leads from the bottom of the chamber and empties onto the outside sill of the threshhold. The top opening of the chamber is about 1/2 inch or more above the drain opening so that wind pressure against the drain opening opposes a head of water within the chamber beneath the door.

1 es ate t [1 [11] 3,851,420 111mm on. 3, 1974 DOOR AND THRESHHOLDWEATHERSEAL 3,690,037 9/1972 Kempel 49/468 x SYSTEM FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS Inventor: l p Tihhetts, Rochester, NY 468,413 7/1937 GreatBritain 49/476 [73] Assignee: The Schlegel Manufacturing Company,Rochester, Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Philip C.Kannan [22] Elm: 1973 Attorney, Agent, or FirmCumpston, Shaw & [21]Appl. No.: 326,977 Stephens 52 Us; 0 49/471, 49/380, 49/470, [57]ABSTRACT 49/495 A weatherseal arrangement around a door cooperates [51]Int. Cl E06b 1/70, E06b 7/16 with a threshhold under the door to drainaway water [58] Field of Search 49/467-471, blown against the door.Weatherseals along vertical 49/380, 476, 484, 495 edges of the doorprevent water from passing inward and also conduct water downward to thethreshhold [56] References Cited which has an enclosed chamber under thedoor. The IT STATES PATENTS downward draining water iS guided into a topopening of the chamber, preferably by pile material over the topopening, and a drain opening leads from the bot- 119121173 5/1933Barnngrl... 12:21.... 4 /476 tom of the chamber and'empties onto theOutside 2,108,137 2/1938 Oftedal et al. 49 470 x of the threshhold- TheP Opening of the Chamber is 2,129,381 9/1938 Oftedal et al. 49/470 Xabout /2 inch or more above the drain opening so that 2,570,336 10/1951Fouts 49/471 X wind pressure against the drain opening opposes a3,014,253 12/1961 Manville 49/469 head of water within the chamberbeneath the door. 3,032,839 5/1962 Miller 49/471 x 3,079,653 3/1963Cornell 49/469 x 16 Claims, 10 Drawmg F lg r PATENTELBEE 3,851,420

SHEH 20? 2 DOOR AND THRESHI-IOLID WEATHERSEAL SYSTEM THE INVENTIVEIMPROVEMENT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventive door and threshholdWeatherseal weartherseal system includes Weatherseal means arrangedalong a vertical edge of the door to prevent water from passing inwardpast the edge of the door, and the edge Weatherseal is shaped to conductwater downward along the edge of the door. The threshhold has anenclosed chamber under the door and having a top opening, and thedownwardly drained water is guided from the bottom of the edgeWeatherseal means into the top opening of the chamber. The chamber has adrain opening leading from the bottom of the chamber to a region outsidethe door, and the top of the chamber is about A inch or more above thedrain opening sofwind pressure against the drain opening opposes a headof water within the chamber beneath the door.

. DRAWINGS view of the system of FIG. '1' taken along the line 2'2.thereof;'

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view of the system ofFIG; 1 taken along the line 3 3 thereof;

FIG; 4 is an enlarged'view similar to the view of FIG. 2 with the dooropen;'

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lower corner of the door and frameembodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is afragmentary partially cut-away, front elevational view of apreferred variation on the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tube usable for closing off thechamber of the threshhold of the inventive system; and

FIGS. 8 l are cross-sectional views of alternative threshholdconstructions for the inventive system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The inventive door and threshhold Weathersealsystem as shown in FIGS. 1 is applied to a conventional door 10 formedof any convenient material and hung within a jamb or frame 11 to closeagainst a stop 12 over a threshhold 15. Frame 11 can be wood, plastic,or metal, and threshhold 15 is preferably extruded of plastic or metal.Door 10 and frame 11 can be preassembled and installed as a unit at thebuilding site, or

'can be built up part-by-part on the building site. The

invention involves an improved Weatherseal system around door 10 asdescribed below.

A Weatherseal 16 is preferably arranged along the vertical edges of door10, and preferably also extends over the top of door 10. Weatherseal16includes a leaf seal 17 positioned against frame 11 and engaging door10 for a tight, even seal along the vertical edges of door 10. Seal 16also preferably includes a face leaf seal 18 resiliently engaging theouter face of door 10 along its edges. Then with door 10 closed as bestshown in FIG. 2, face leaf 18 presses against the outer face edge ofdoor 10, and leaf seal 17 presses against the side edge of door 10. Leaf18 diverts most of the water blown against the outside of door 10 tokeep the door edge dry, and any water that gets past leaf 18 is trappedby leaf 17. Also, leaf 17 is arranged to be open toward the outside ofdoor 10 and closed toward the inside of door 10 to provide a solidbarrier to any inwardly directed water being forced around the edge ofdoor 10. Such water is caught in the closed angle of leaf seal 17 andflows downward along the side edges of door 10. Face leaf 18 can beomitted, and the entire Weatherseal can be accomplished by leaf 17 ifdesired. Also, weatherseal 16 can be mounted on frame 11 in severaldifferent ways, including the mountings shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 and anadhesive, staple, or fastener mount directly to an unnotched frame 11.

Threshhold l5 cooperates with weatherseals 16 to dispose of thedownwardly draining water along the edges of door 10 without anyleakage. Threshhold 15 is preferably formed as asingle piece of extrudedplastic or metal as best shown in FIG. 3 with a downwardly sloping outersill 19' and an enclosed chamber 20 extending from the length ofthreshhold 15 under door 10. Longitudinal openings 21' in threshhold 15serve as v screw receptacles for fastening threshhold 15 between frameparts, 11 in factory assembly. Threshhold 15 can also be fastened inplace in other ways such as by fas- I teners driven into frame pieces 11from the under side of threshhold 15 or fasteners driven downwardthrough threshhold 15 and into an underlying surface.

Chamber 20 has a top opening 22 near each'end and, below leaf seal17 forreceiving water draining downward inside leaf seal l7.-A tube or otherguide can be used to direct water from the bottom of leaf seal 17 intotop opening 22, but a preferred water guide is a patch of pile material23 laid over the base of seal 16 under the bottom of leaf 17 and overthe top opening 22 of chamber 20. Water draining downward inside of leaf17 then drains into pile patch 23 and works its way downward into topopening 22. Meanwhile, pile 23 engages the bottom edge of door 10 toserve as a weatherseal in addition to a water guide.

Chamber 20 also has a drain opening 24. leading from the bottom ofchamber 20 and emptying out onto sill 19. Water runninginto chamber 20then drains out over sill l9 and runs off outside of door 10. Windpressure against drain opening 24 can hold water back in, chamber 20,and chamber 20 is preferably tall enough so that its top opening 22 isabout a inch or more above drain opening 24 so that a head of water canaccumulate inside chamber 20 if the wind pressure against drain opening24 is sufficient. It has been found in experiments with the inventivesystem that a 34 milean-hour wind directed against drain opening 24creates sufficient pressure to hold a head of water. /8 inch tall inchamber 20, so top opening 22 is preferably inch above drain opening 24where a water head resistance to a 34 mile-an-hour wind is desired. Theeffect of such an arrangement is to provide a water seal against windpressure blowing against drain opening 24 so that an air draft cannotpass through the water and reach the inside of door 10.

When wind pressure does not prevent it, water drains freely from drainopening 24. Then if a gust of wind occurs when no water is accumulatedin chamber 24, a draft can blow upward from top opening 22. However,such a draft enters pile material 23 which seals against the air andprevents the draft from reaching the inside of door 10. Also, any waterblown upward through top opening 22 is merely forced into pile material23 which can hold a considerable amount of water without leaking to theinside of of door 10. A

The bottom of door preferably has a weatherseal 36 engaging the top ofchamber 20 of threshhold 15, and weatherseal 36 is preferably clear oftop opening 22 when door 10 is closed. weatherseal 36 includes a pair ofspaced-apart, resilient foam strips 37 and flexible fins 38 so that fins38 flex and sweep along the top of chamber 20 and foam strips 37compress against the top of chamber 20 for a firm and secureweatherseal. The space between fins 38 leaves clearance over top opening22 so that water can drain in between fins 38 and enter top opening 22.A single piece of weatherstripping can also be used along the bottomedge of door 10 to clear top opening 22 when door 10 is closed.

The preferred way of installing threshhold in preexisting door frames isto fit threshhold 15 in place and screw it down with screws passingthrough chamber 20. For such an arrangement it is desirable to keep thecentral region of chamber dry and limit the water to the end regionsunder weatherseal 16. To accomplish this, a drain guide box 25 as shownin FIG. 6 is preferred. Box 25 is closed around its sides except for anopening 26 that registers with drain opening 24 when box 25 is fittedinto the end of chamber 20. Box 25also has a top opening 27 that fitsinto top opening 22 of chamber 20. Then water can drain into opening 27of box 25 and out through drain openings 26 and 24 and onto sill 19without entering the central region of chamber 20.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative to drain box 25 in the form of a tube 28that is flexible and curved as illustrated to extend between top opening22 and drain opening 24 at the end of chamber 20. Tube 28 is preferablydove-tailed in cross-section as illustrated, and top opening 22 anddrain opening 24 preferably have a corresponding dove-tail shape forsecurely fitting tube 28 in place without any fastening.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative cross-sectional view of a threshhold 30usable in the inventive system and having a different drain arrangement.Drain opening 31 is formed in the bottom of chamber 32 of threshhold 30,and leads under sill 33 in a drain passageway 34 that opens at the outerend of sill 33. The bottom of drain passageway 34 is closed by a troughpiece 35 secured to the underside of threshhold 30. One advantage ofsuch an arrangement is an increase in the vertical distance from theopen end of drain passageway 34 to the top opening 35 by takingadvantage of the downward slope of sill 33. This can be used either toincrease the 6 FIG. 9 shows another alternative cross-sectional view ofa threshhold usable in the inventive system. Chamber 41 extends outwardunder sloping sill 42 and has a drain opening 43 at the outer end ofsill 42. This helps increase the vertical height from drain opening 43to top opening 44 without a very tall ledge abaove sill 42. Screwreceptacle openings 45 are used as previously described, and baffles 46help trap a head of water in the bottom of chamber 41 to resist windpressure against drain opening 43.

FIG. 10 shows another alternative cross-sectional view of a threshhold50 usable in the inventive system. Chamber 51 extends under sill 52supported by legs 53 as illustrated, and a tube 54 similar to the tubeof FIG. 7, extends from top opening 55 through chamber 51 along notchesformed in legs 53 and to a drain opening 56 at the outer end of sill 52.Screw receptacle openings 58 are used as previously described, and theonly drain water in chamber 51 is confined within tube 54. A ramp 57slopes upward from the inside edge of threshhold 50 to minimize thelikelihood of tripping over threshhold 50. Ramp 57 can also be added toany of the previously described threshholds.

Many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive system.For example, different weather seals can be arranged along the edges ofdoor 10 to stop any water blown inward and guide the water downward.Pile and other drain guides can be arranged in various ways at thebottom of the edge weatherseals to direct the downwardly drained waterinto the chamber of the threshhold. The threshhold can have smallchambers at each end rather than a chamber extending along its length,and its top openings can be notches at or near its ends or openingsspaced from the ends with recesses leading toward such openings. Fordouble doors, weatherseals can be arranged where the door edges join,and the threshhold can have a central opening under the door edges inaddition to openingsat its ends. Drain openings from chamber 20 can beshaped in many ways and placed in different locations either to drainout over a sill, under a sill, or through a passageway to some otherexternal outlet. The top of door 10 can be sealed with the same sealused along the edges, or with a different sort of seal; and sealvariations are possible at the corners of the door and around the lockand latch, and along the bottom. Those skilled in the art willappreciate many of these variations and know how to apply them tospecific desired constructions.

Persons wishing to practice the invention should remember that otherembodiments and variations can be adapted to particular circumstances.Even though one point of view is necessarily chosen in describing anddefining the invention, this should not inhibit broader or relatedembodiments going beyond the semantic orientation of this applicationbut falling within the spirit of the invention. For example, thoseskilled in the art will understand the many variations possible inweatherseals, materials, threshhold construction, and drain arrangementswithin the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A door and threshold weatherseal system having weatherseal meansalong a vertical edge of said door for conducting water downward alongsaid edge of said door and comprising:

a. said threshold being formed as a single piece extrusion having a sillsloping downward and outward from said door, the inner edge of saidthreshold extending above said sill to form a generally closed chamberformed above said sill and arranged under said door with the bottom ofsaid chamber communicating with the top of said sill;

b. means above said sill for closing the ends of said chamber adjacentthe frame of said door;

c. said chamber having a top opening on the opposite side of said endclosing means from said frame;

d. means for guiding water from thebottom of said edge weatherseal meansinto said top opening of said chamber;-

e. said chamber having a drain opening leading from the bottom of saidchamber to empty onto said sill; and

f. said top of said chamber being about /2 inch or more above the top ofsaid drain opening so wind pressure against said drain opening opposes ahead of water within said chamber beneath said door.

1 2. The system of claim 1 including means for closing off the endregions of said chamber so no water enters the central region of saidchamber.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said closure means is a box fitted intothe end of said chamber and having an opening registered with said drainopening.

I tube leading from said top opening to said drain opening.

5. A door and threshhold prising:

a. weatherseal means arranged along a vertical edge of said door toprevent water from passing inward past said edge of said door, said edgeweatherseal meansbeing shaped to conduct water downeard .along said edgeof said door;

b. a sill sloping downward and outward from said bottom wall of saidchamber;

c. saidchamber having top openings in said top wall arranged in theregion of each end of said threshold to receive water draining downwardalong the edges of said door;

d. said chamber having a drain opening leading through the outerone ofsaid vertical walls from said bottom wall of said chamber to empty ontosaid sill;

e. means above said sill for closing the ends of said chamber adjacentthe frame of said door; and

f. said top opening being about A inch or more above the top ofsaiddrain opening.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said top opening is a notch in the endof said chamber under said pile material so any upward drafts from saidtop opening enter said pile material.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the bottom of said door has a weatherseal means comprising a pair of spaced apart seals engaging the top ofsaid chamber on opposite sides of said top openingwhen said door isclosed.

weatherseal system com- 8. The system of claim 7 wherein said threshholdincludes a sill sloping downward and outward from said chamber, and saiddrain opening leads under said sill.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said threshhold includes a sill slopingdownward and outward, said chamber extends under said sill, said drainopening is in the outer end of said sill, and a tube leads from said topopening to said drain opening.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said threshhold includes a sillsloping downward and outward from said chamber, and said drain openingempties onto said sill.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said weatherseal 7 means comprises aleaf seal open toward the outside of said door and closed toward theinside of said door, and seal means engaging the outer face edge of saiddoor.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said threshhold is a single piece ofextruded plastic with said chamber extending for the length of saidthreshhold under said door, and said weathers eal means is arrangedalong both vertical edges of said door and said pile material isarranged at each end of said chamber.

13-. The system of claim 12 including means for closing off the ends ofsaid chamber so no water enters the central region of said chamber.

14. A door threshold comprising:

a. a single piece of extruded plastic material having a generally closedchamber formed of a bottom wall, a top wall, and a pair of verticalwalls extending for the length of said threshold to underlie a door;

b. said threshhold having a chamber under said door;

against said drain opening opposes a head of water within said chamberbeneath said door; and y g. said water guiding means includes pilematerial arranged to engage said edge of said doo'r between Said topopening and said bottom of said weatherseal means.

15. The threshhold of claim 14 including screw receptacles formed aslongitudinal openings open at the ends of said threshhold.

16. The threshhold of claim'l4 including means for closing off the endregions of said chamber so no 'water enters the central region of saidchamber.

1. A door and threshold weatherseal system having weatherseal meansalong a vertical edge of said door for conducting water downward alongsaid edge of said door and comprising: a. said threshold being formed asa single piece extrusion having a sill sloping downward and outward fromsaid door, the inner edge of said threshold extending above said sill toform a generally closed chamber formed above said sill and arrangedunder said door with the bottom of said chamber communicating with thetop of said sill; b. means above said sill for closing the ends of saidchamber adjacent the frame of said door; c. said chamber having a topopening on the opposite side of said end closing means from said frame;d. means for guiding water from the bottom of said edge weathersealmeans into said top opening of said chamber; e. said chamber having adrain opening leading from the bottom of said chamber to empty onto saidsill; and f. said top of said chamber being about 1/2 inch or more abovethe top of said drain opening so wind pressure against said drainopening opposes a head of water within said chamber beneath said door.2. The system of claim 1 including means for closing off the end regionsof said chamber so no water enters the central region of said chamber.3. The system of claim 2 wheRein said closure means is a box fitted intothe end of said chamber and having an opening registered with said drainopening.
 4. The system of claim 2 wherein closure means is a tubeleading from said top opening to said drain opening.
 5. A door andthreshhold weatherseal system comprising: a. weatherseal means arrangedalong a vertical edge of said door to prevent water from passing inwardpast said edge of said door, said edge weatherseal means being shaped toconduct water downeard along said edge of said door; b. a sill slopingdownward and outward from said bottom wall of said chamber; c. saidchamber having top openings in said top wall arranged in the region ofeach end of said threshold to receive water draining downward along theedges of said door; d. said chamber having a drain opening leadingthrough the outer one of said vertical walls from said bottom wall ofsaid chamber to empty onto said sill; e. means above said sill forclosing the ends of said chamber adjacent the frame of said door; and f.said top opening being about 1/2 inch or more above the top of saiddrain opening.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein said top opening is anotch in the end of said chamber under said pile material so any upwarddrafts from said top opening enter said pile material.
 7. The system ofclaim 6 wherein the bottom of said door has a weatherseal meanscomprising a pair of spaced apart seals engaging the top of said chamberon opposite sides of said top opening when said door is closed.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7 wherein said threshhold includes a sill slopingdownward and outward from said chamber, and said drain opening leadsunder said sill.
 9. The system of claim 7 wherein said threshholdincludes a sill sloping downward and outward, said chamber extends undersaid sill, said drain opening is in the outer end of said sill, and atube leads from said top opening to said drain opening.
 10. The systemof claim 7 wherein said threshhold includes a sill sloping downward andoutward from said chamber, and said drain opening empties onto saidsill.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein said weatherseal meanscomprises a leaf seal open toward the outside of said door and closedtoward the inside of said door, and seal means engaging the outer faceedge of said door.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein said threshhold isa single piece of extruded plastic with said chamber extending for thelength of said threshhold under said door, and said weatherseal means isarranged along both vertical edges of said door and said pile materialis arranged at each end of said chamber.
 13. The system of claim 12including means for closing off the ends of said chamber so no waterenters the central region of said chamber.
 14. A door thresholdcomprising: a. a single piece of extruded plastic material having agenerally closed chamber formed of a bottom wall, a top wall, and a pairof vertical walls extending for the length of said threshold to underliea door; b. said threshhold having a chamber under said door; c. saidchamber having a top opening; d. means for guiding water from the bottomof said edge weatherseal means into said top opening of said chamber; e.said chamber having a drain opening leading from the bottom of saidchamber to a region outside said door; f. said top of said chamber beingabout 1/2 inch or more above said drain opening so wind pressure againstsaid drain opening opposes a head of water within said chamber beneathsaid door; and g. said water guiding means includes pile materialarranged to engage said edge of said door between said top opening andsaid bottom of said weatherseal means.
 15. The threshhold of claim 14including screw receptacles formed as longitudinal openings open at theends of said threshhold.
 16. The threshhold of claim 14 including meansfor closing off the end regions of said chamber so no water enters thecentral region of said chamBer.